Fazul Abdullah Mohammed

Fazul Abdullah Mohammed (25 August 1972-8 June 2011) was the leader of the Al-Qaeda cell in East Africa.

Biography
Fazul Abdullah Mohammed was born in Moroni, the capital of the Comoros islands, in 1972. He spoke French, Swahili, Arabic, English, and his native Comorian. Mohammed was an Islamist, and in 1993 he planned a truck bombing against United States peacekeeping troops in Somalia. He witnessed the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, seeing eighteen US troops being killed and two helicopters being shot down. In 1998, he was wanted by Interpol for taking part in the bombing of two US embassies in Africa, and Mohammed became a top leader of Al-Qaeda, heading their cell in East Africa. Mohammed assisted in the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) struggle against the government of Somalia after 2007, but was unable to prevent US, Somali Ethiopian, and African Union troops from taking out most of the ICU hideouts (including Ras Kamboni).

Death
In 2011, Mohammed and Musa Hussein traveled through Mogadishu with $40,000 and a South African passport, attempting to escape Somalia. However, they were stopped at a checkpoint at night by Somali troops. Musa opened fire on the guards, who returned fire and killed Fazul and Musa. A third occupant of the car escaped the scene, but Mohammed's death was a large blow to Al-Qaeda.